2010 Vyrus 987 | First Ride

I am pleased to say that today I road the exotic hub-steered 2010 Vyrus 987 motorcycle in an exclusive test ride.

Vyrus is simply too small and busy with building its highly exotic, Ducati-powered naked bikes to deal with all of the press on a regular basis let alone organizing test rides. But today, I was granted audience with one very angry beast of a naked superbike.

The 2010 Vyrus 987 follows in the 985’s footsteps (999R-powered) and features a full-on barking-mad Ducati 1198R tuned engine. With homologated exhaust and engine map the 987 produces a claimed 185 horsepower and weighs in at claimed curb weight of only 341 pounds.

The 987 is also available with a supercharger that boosts the power to 211 horsepower, and the compressor only runs at one fifth of its capacity. That supercharged version is the one I am desperate to test, but until that may be possible later this year, so I had to settle for the “standard” 987.

My first impression is that this superbike is as hardcore as they come. The hub steering is extremely neutral in the corners and delivers an intuitive feel. Visually understanding the hub-steered front end is the only tricky part. The suspension is decoupled from the steering mechanicals to provide that advanced feel.

With the race exhaust and race Vyrus engine mapping, the test bike produces a mind-blowing 194 horsepower. How much torque? You don’t need to ask.

Ducati’s 1198R Testastretta engine is a pure race-bread beast in itself. Now imagine that engine in tuned state in the hub-steered Vyrus chassis that weighs the same as a supermoto chassis and you’ll start to get an idea.

It’s bonkers and I was allowed out on it in the hills of San Marino on Pirelli superbike slicks. It doesn’t get much better than this for a humble motorcycle journalist.

If you want to know more, stay tuned here at Ultimate MotorCycling as the full test is just around the corner.